This study of mysticism in Hebrew Gematria is dedicated in the loving memory of Mr. Paul Sakash, may he rest in peace.

"And spoke Hashem to Moshe saying, 'Speak to B'nei Yisroel and have them take for Me a gift offering from all men whose hearts desire to donate. Take My gift offering... And [B'nei Yisroel shall] prepare a holy place for Me [so] I shall reside among them." Exodus 25:1,2,8

This is a fascinating passage in the Torah because this Mitzvah {command} given thousands of years ago commanding us to 'prepare a place for [Hashem] to dwell' is still so very relevant today! Yet then B'nei Yisroel was embarking on preparing the Mishkon {the "tabernacle / sanctuary"} in the wilderness. Then they had a focal point for Hashem's residence among them. It is extremely sad and unfortunate that today we have neither the Mishkon nor the Bais HaMikdosh {Holy Temple} as our focal point. YET, thank G-d, we still have the command, the mitzvah, "prepare a holy place for Me [so] I shall reside among them."

The mitzvah, "prepare a holy place for Me [so] I shall reside among them,"is the 95th mitzvah from the beginning of the Torah. When considering the Gematria 95 my thoughts immediately return to Creation. "In inception G-d created the heavens and the earth. And the earth became desolate and chaotic. And darkness encompassed the face of the abyss. And the Spirit of G-d hovered upon the waters."Genesis 1:1,2 Some would translate the first words of the Torah to mean, " In the beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void...." This is also correct. However, it was in inception {G-d's inception} that the heavens and the earth were created. The heavens and the earth were created perfect in the mind of G-d. Then
G-d chose to create freedom. G-d created the freedom to obey or to disobey. G-d created choice. G-d knew that in creating choice He was permitting His perfect inception to become desolate and chaotic. Which it did. Then when G-d's perfect inception did become desolate and chaotic... when man sinned... when man became rebellious... when man turned away from G-d... when man rejected
G-d's perfect inception, essentially when man ruled the earth the earth became void and empty, the earth became desolate and chaotic... It was then that darkness covered the face of the abyss, the world that man destroyed... It was then after man's failure that the Spirit of G-d hovered over Ha Maw Yeem, meaning the waters.

Now I understand this is quite a departure from standard Torah interpretation of Genesis 1:1,2 yet in the mystical sense it serves as a parellel to what is actually happening. Man given unchecked control will eventually destroy Mother Earth, G-d forbid! And that is the point to this exercise.
G-d has given man the freedom of choice. Some choose to abuse their freedom and destroy the good land that G-d has given them while others carefully care for and protect Mother Earth. Those who use and destroy ignore the Manufacturer's Handbook, i.e., the Torah. In their freedom... their uncontrolled freedom... their unbounded freedom they would annihilate this world, G-d forbid! Yet others have chosen to place boundaries upon their lives... boundaries upon their desires... boundaries upon their freedoms... boundaries as described in the Torah. What is interesting here is that in placing these boundaries upon themselves, that in accepting these boundaries they have in fact established a system of honor and respect for the Creator. Through their obedience they have placed the crown, so to speak, upon Hashem as King of the universe. They have chosen to give honor to the Creator. This is the point! They have chosen to make Hashem the Rosh {the head} and not the tail. In the first word of Torah we read Bereishis meaning "In the beginning." And within the first word of Torah we see Rosh meaning head, top, chief.

Bereishis {In the beginning}
Sav - Yud - Shin - Aleph - Reish - Bais

Rosh {head, top, chief}
Shin - Aleph - Reish

So it is fair to say that when the world was created in the mind of G-d that G-d willingly allowed His perfect inception to become stained to a degree so as to eventually allow the good to prevail over the evil. And in so doing, when the will, when the choice of the good does prevail over evil G-d is acknowledged as the sovereign King of the universe. This could only be accomplished through the freedom of choice. This meant that the stain of evil was necessary. Uncontrolled freedom had to be permited so as to eventually crown Hashem as our King!

Now, holy reader, we return to our original thought: the mitzvah that we begain with... the purpose for Creation... that we the Jewish people would prepare a holy place for Hashem to reside among us. But it is not just for Hashem to dwell among us but for us to prepare the royal palace, i.e., the Holy Temple for our King! The 95th mitzvah... And how do we know this? The Torah says, "The Spirit of G-d hovered over Ha Maw Yeem, meaning the water." Rashi says this means G-d's "Throne of Glory was standing in space hovering over the surface of the waters." In other words, G-d as King was preparing to offer the breath of life to a flooded earth... to an earth covered with the water, Ha Maw Yeem. For what purpose? So that we the Jewish people would prepare a holy place for Hashem to reside among us.

What does this have to do with the water? Water is a cleansing agent. Water is a purifer. The water encompassing the earth as a covering purifies and hides our destructive, chaotic past. So in this sense Ha Maw Yeem represents our return / redemption from a destructive, chaotic past and our reception of the Breath that offers life. The purpose for receiving this breath is the 95th mitzvah. The Talmud states that there are seven indispensable prerequisites for the orderly progress of mankind upon earth. The prerequisites are the Torah, repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah. {Nedarim 39b} 'The Torah is the supreme source of instruction. The concept of repentance is the recognition that 'to err is human', and hence, if man falls, he has the opportunity to rise again. This is represented by Gan Eden {the Garden of Eden} and Gehenna {hell}. These symbolize reward and punishment. The Throne of G-d's Glory in heaven and the Temple on earth indicate the goal of Creation, the Kingdom of G-d (represented by the Temple) shall be established on earth, as it is in heaven. Finally, the name of the Moshiach represents the assurance that G-d's purpose will be ultimately achieved.' {Pesachim 54a}

So in the Gematria of 95, mystically speaking, we see the purpose for Creation. The Gematria for Ha Maw Yeem is 95!

95th Mitzvah
"prepare a holy place for Me [so] I shall reside among them,"Exodus 25:8

Ha Maw Yeem {meaning the water}
95 = Mem = 40 Yud = 10 Mem = 40 Hey = 5

Blessings to you!

Dr. Akiva G. Belk

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